After committing his future to Arsenal, Jorginho is in good spirits.
His new one-year deal was announced on Thursday, a reward for being a crucial member of Mikel Arteta’s team.
The 32-year-old has played 35 times in all competitions for the Gunners this season and Arteta has always held his man in high regard.
For the North London club’s most important matches, Jorginho has the go-ahead. That includes the two league games against Manchester City and the use of him in all but one of Arsenal’s Champions League games.
More specifically, Arteta had pursued the Italian almost 10 years ago, when the midfielder was at Napoli from 2014 to 2018.
Jorginhio (pictured) spoke about how Mikel Arteta tried to sign him twice for Arsenal before his eventual move.
The midfielder signed a new one-year contract this Thursday to stay with the Gunners
The midfielder said he hopes his coach (right) will soon promise his long-term future to the club.
Jorginho says: “When he (Arteta) was at City and I was at Naples, that was the first time (he tried to sign me) and then he tried twice when I was here and it didn’t happen.”
‘But now, fortunately, it happened. I’m here, happy, having the opportunity to work alongside him and learning a lot from him.’
Speaking of contracts, Arteta has one more year left. The Spaniard has revolutionized the club, even coming so close to winning Arsenal’s first league title since 2004 in the previous campaign, and Jorginho firmly hopes Arteta will commit his future to the north London club.
“I feel like I could stay a lot longer,” he says.
“I feel like he feels good here and, honestly, I don’t see him leaving. It’s very important for the club that he stays because he, with Edu and the board, the entire club, created something special. I don’t think he wants to go too.
Jorginho had previously warned everyone about Kai Havertz’s ability, as the German went through a difficult period in the first half of the season. Since then, Havertz has performed well, scoring 12 and providing six assists in the Premier League this season.
“I always knew because I know Kai,” he explains.
‘That’s part of the game too, right? I also talked to him: “Stay calm, let them talk, keep doing your job as usual. Work hard and you’ll come out of this even better.”
He went on to reveal how he had told Kai Havertz (pictured) to keep working when he was receiving criticism.
The stars know each other well from their time at Chelsea and now they shine red
Jorginho described his midfield partner Declan Rice (right) as “an incredible player” who runs too much in training.
And I think that’s what has happened. And I’m very happy for him. He is an incredible guy and he deserves everything to go very well.
‘You hear those things (criticisms), you feel them and it’s up to you how you take them. You can accept them and let them get you down or take the criticism and use it as motivation. “I think he used them as motivation to prove them wrong and he did it and I’m very happy.”
Another midfielder who has made a big impact is Declan Rice. The £105million man is arguably the signing of the season and has been a vital part of the Arsenal squad.
Of Rice’s impact, he adds: ‘I think it’s growing every day. He is a humble boy, he wants to learn and works hard and sometimes I tell him: “You are running too much in training today, calm down a little.”
“He says, ‘Jori, I’m just leaving.’ I say, ‘No, no, save those legs a little bit.’ He’s an incredible player, he contributes to any team in the world and we’re happy that he joined us and we has helped, and it will surely help England.
